Apple hosting stealth iOS developer summit?

Steve Jobs and App Store icon (Image credit: iMore)

Is Apple hosting a secret iPhone and iPad developers summit in Cupertino, starting next Tuesday and running for 3 days? So Business Insider and their industrious industry sources would have us believe.

We are short on details, and we have not seen any public information about it, but it sounds like this will be a more intimate version of the iPhone Tech Talks that Apple hosted around the world last year.

Since it's iOS-specific, it's not about the just-announced Mac App Store or the still unannounced Apple TV App Store (grrr!), but rather something designed to improve the quality of iPhone and iPad apps in the face ever growing app competition from the likes of Google's Android platform. And with iOS 4.2 coming sometime in November, along with AirPlay goodness, the timing could just be right.

Then again, a stealth summit would mean invitation only, so Apple would likely target just the kind of developers who already make some of the best apps on the platform anyway. Should they be trying to make the best even better, or is there some way they could improve those 290,000 less-than-great apps that currently clog up the store?

[Business Insider]

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.